tonigt: full moon belgian white ale--it is not really belgian, but a belgian style witbier from the mudshark brewery based in arizona. i quote my beeradvocate.com review:

looks very nice in the glass--lovely colour, and nice head. unfortunately, let down by the taste and non-existent finish. slight citrusy notes, and a hint of bitterness as it enters the mouth, but by the time you've finished swallowing it you might as well have had a sip of water. but this does make it a very good thirst quencher after a hot, humid day as we've had today in southern minnesota.

is it really 8% alcohol? sure doesn't taste like it.

eta:

okay, this is very embarrassing: the beer i drank is not full moon belgian white, but blue moon belgian white. when i went to review it on beeradvocate, i mistakenly did a search for full moon, and when it showed up i assumed that's what it was called. what are the odds that two separate companies would make belgian style witbiers with moon in their names?

review stands--but this one is certainly not 8% abv, which explains my surprise.

okay, this is very embarrassing: the beer i drank is not full moon belgian white, but blue moon belgian white.

We just imbibed at Frasca for you, Mongo. We hoisted some Tocai in your honor. The owners are all out pimping Scarpetta, but the staffers have it running like clock-work.

I love Belgian beer. For future reference, can we find this Blue Moon Belgian White in CO, I wonder. Must Google when I'm sober. Please post links.

“When I was dating and the wine list was presented to my male companion, I tried to ignore this unfortunate faux pas. But this practice still goes on…Closing note to all servers and sommeliers: please include women in wine selection. Okay?”--Alpana Singh, M.S.-"Alpana Pours"

“When someone drives up to the farm in a BMW and asks me why our eggs cost more…well, first I try not to get mad…I take him outside and point at his car. ‘Sir, you clearly understand quality and are willing to pay for it. Well, food is no different: You get what you pay for.’”—Farmer Joel Salatin quoted in Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”

"It's so sensual, isn't it? And you don't need any nerdy stuff to really appreciate great Burgundy. It just washes over you."--Jancis Robinson on Grape Radio, 11/07

okay, this is very embarrassing: the beer i drank is not full moon belgian white, but blue moon belgian white.

We just imbibed at Frasca for you, Mongo. We hoisted some Tocai in your honor. The owners are all out pimping Scarpetta, but the staffers have it running like clock-work.

I love Belgian beer. For future reference, can we find this Blue Moon Belgian White in CO, I wonder. Must Google when I'm sober. Please post links.

i think you should be able to. as per the labelling it is brewed in canada but imported in the u.s by a company in golden (which i suspect is a coors subsidiary). but there's no reason to hunt for it. boulder's own avery brewing company makes a far superior belgian style witbier: white rascal.

i think you should be able to. as per the labelling it is brewed in canada but imported in the u.s by a company in golden (which i suspect is a coors subsidiary).

Molson is part of the "Coors Family" now. If this is made in Canada it's a Molson product (which I generally avoid) made for export only - it is not carried by The Beer Store, the largest beer distribution network in Canada.

mongo, you should do yourself a favor and start working your way through the Bells series. I think some places around the twin cities are offering Bells Oberon on tap this time of year, but the bottled stuff is good too.

sandwiches that are large and filling and do not contain tuna or prawns

That Blue Moon stuff is awful. Back in Champaign I'm drinking Three Floyds Robert the Bruce since it's sort of local, but whenever I'm back it takes me a few minutes to adjust to beer that tastes like something besides beer.

(In this case, kind of chocolate-y. Friendly but a little on the sweet side.)

Also, if you happen to have some space in your home, you might want to consider doing what many Minnesotans do for good cheap beer and just brew it yourself. The first batch is going to be about $2/pint, but the second one is going to be very inexpensive.

sandwiches that are large and filling and do not contain tuna or prawns

it's not that bad. that is to say, it beats drinking tap water, which is more than i can say for the other products from the fine folks at coors.

fly: yes, the fin du monde sneaks up on you. alas, the local liquor store does not carry it, but i plan to make a pilgrimage soon to surdyk's in minneapolis, which is billed as the largest liquor store in the midwest--hopefully it will be larger and better stocked than the largest asian grocery in the midwest. i assume surdyk's will carry the full line of bell's and schell beers--some of the bell's beers do sound very good from their website descriptions, and they have received very strong reviews on beer advocate.

mongo, you should do yourself a favor and start working your way through the Bells series. I think some places around the twin cities are offering Bells Oberon on tap this time of year, but the bottled stuff is good too.

i'm quaffing some of the oberon ale right now. pretty good, but nothing amazing. also got a 6 pk of their third coast beer. will report. the store didn't have their stouts or porters, which is what i am really interested in, but maybe they can get me some if i ask nicely.